


Sweet Surprises

by kaeorin



Series: Loki's Lullabies [56]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), Avenger Reader (Marvel), Comfort, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Gen, Ice Cream Parlors, Pre-Relationship, Reader-Insert, Stark Tower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:29:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24297379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin
Summary: While wandering through the city, you find a cute little ice cream shop and quickly become a regular there. One day, Loki joins you.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Loki's Lullabies [56]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678240
Comments: 13
Kudos: 192





	Sweet Surprises

Living in a gigantic, high-tech Tower with a team of arguably the greatest superheroes on Earth was nice. They were good people, good company. It was fun to spend time with them and work with them and share your space with them. And on days when you weren’t particularly interested in sharing your space with anybody at all, the Tower was _more_ than large enough for you to find a quiet place where you could be by yourself. 

Most of the time.

On days when your claustrophobia made you feel like somehow the endless space inside the Tower wasn’t enough, you took yourself outside. It was easy enough to slip out unnoticed, and, once you did, filling your lungs with air—not _fresh_ air, perhaps, given the fact that...this was New York, but air nonetheless—always seemed to bring things back to normal. You roamed the city. It was nice to people-watch, to duck into bodegas and little shops and just see what was going on. 

That’s how you found the ice cream shop. 

It wasn’t a chain shop or anything. It felt very much like a mom-and-pop kind of thing. They had a surprising amount of flavors, too, and you had yet to try one that you didn’t like. Sometimes, on your walks through the city, you wondered if maybe you should feel weird about becoming a regular there, but when you stepped inside and the girl at the counter—Nina, usually—greeted you with a wave and a cheerful smile, you always pushed that weirdness aside in favor of ice cream.

You’d been sitting in the living room scrolling through your phone. It wasn’t something that required a lot of mental capacity because you were mostly just looking at your social media feed, but you were enjoying the quiet. It was nice. 

As though you’d summoned him, Thor came bounding into the room and all but shouted your name. You startled before you could stop yourself, but at least you were pretty sure that you’d managed to keep yourself from actively glaring at him. He skidded to a stop in front of you and held out his hands as though to keep you in your spot. 

“Stay there,” he begged. “I’m glad you’re here. We need you to settle a dispute.”

“We—” Movement in the doorway drew your eyes, and you looked up just in time to see Loki slinking in. When he saw you already looking at him, he rolled his eyes. You tried not to smile. Sometimes the two of them reminded you of an overly-energetic golden retriever and a gorgeous, but irritable, cat. How could two brothers be any more different? “What’s up?”

“In a match of strength,” Thor widened his eyes at you, perhaps to make sure that you were listening and understanding, “wherein two great foes are going hand-to-hand to determine which has the greater strength. Would you agree that it is cheating to use illusions—or, or...mind games?”

Oh, you didn’t like this one bit. It didn’t take an idiot to know which brother held which side. What you wanted to do was get up and run away: flee from this room so you didn’t have to play the referee. What you did was turn off the screen of your phone and slip it into your pocket.

Thor was lovely. Obviously. He was probably one of the most beloved members of the team. If someone didn’t love him for his cheerfulness, his happiness, the innocence that could still sometimes creep out from around the things that he’d seen in battle, they loved him for his body. Or his supernatural abilities. The guy had a lot going for him, but he was not the first person who came to mind when you were talking about playing mind games. That, of course, was Loki. He wasn’t as big or bulky as his brother, but what he may have lacked in giant muscles, he more than made up for in cleverness. He was so _fucking_ smart. When he looked at you, you always got the sense that he was seeing right through you. He barely had to say a word to someone before he could figure out how their mind worked and what he needed to do to use that to his advantage. As unsettling as that was, it still somehow thrilled you. What you wouldn’t give to have even an inkling of how he did the things he could do. And his muscles, though less showy and obvious than Thor’s, were still incredibly strong and useful. 

Okay, the man was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly smart and you’d already spent way more time thinking about him than was proper. He was a colleague. A teammate. He was _not_ someone you could ever develop a schoolgirl crush on. Because that was stupid.

He looked up, then, and raised his eyebrows as though he was amused to have caught you staring. You looked back at Thor and prayed he would not notice the warmth in your cheeks. You got to your feet and rubbed your palms on the sides of your legs. 

“I think… That if the measure of a great man were _only_ in his strength, then, yes, illusions would be cheating.”

Thor turned to Loki and let out a loud and haughty “Hah!” Loki did not respond, only rolled his eyes again. You swallowed hard and continued on:

“But that’s not how things work here, right? In a battle with a true enemy, it’s not just about strength. Like, you can’t just spend all of your time lifting weights and then go into battle and bench-press the bad guy to show him that he’s wrong. You have to have other things in that fight. Like...cleverness. And the ability to get inside his head.” You shrugged apologetically at Thor. “In a real battle, illusions aren’t cheating. Illusions are probably what’ll win the fight.” You didn’t allow yourself to look at Loki. You already knew that he was not particularly invested in this argument. Thor was here because he was looking for someone to side with him. Loki was only along for the ride.

When you looked at Thor, he nodded even with disappointment clear in his eyes, and then bowed slightly at you. “This is true. Spoken like a true warrior, my lady. You are wise.” He clasped a giant hand over your shoulder and squeezed.

“Hey, but—if the great foes agreed to a test of strength before they went into it, then you could say that illusions were cheating. Did you guys set any terms like that?” Now you summoned the courage to look over at Loki. He was almost smiling. He shook his head when he caught your eyes.

“Then let’s! A match of pure strength, Loki. No other abilities!” Thor nudged you aside so he could punch Loki in the shoulder. Oh, this promised to be _loud_. It was time to clear out. It was late enough in the day now that going out for ice cream didn’t seem ridiculous. Maybe you’d duck out, go for a walk, and hopefully by the time you got back, the dust would have settled. You wished both men good luck and all but ran to the door.

By the time you got down to street-level, your mind was already beginning to clear again. It wasn’t a brilliantly-sunny day or anything, but you imagined that you could feel sunlight on your skin through the clouds, and that was good enough. You drew in a deep breath and looked around. Definitely a good day for ice cream. 

You hadn’t gotten more than a block away before you heard someone shouting your name. Or a name that sounded like yours, anyway. After a moment’s hesitation, you turned to look behind you. It was Loki. He wasn’t quite running towards you, but he was moving quickly, just barely managing to sidestep the others on the street. When he got to you, he stopped and ran his fingers through his hair.

“We didn’t mean to run you off,” he said in a rush. That was maybe the closest he’d ever come to apologizing for something. You tried not to smile. 

“You didn’t. I wanted to go for a walk.” You gestured vaguely at the world around you. An idea was forming in the back of your mind. It was tempting. Hell, it was tempting enough to make you want to risk him turning you down. You pressed your lips together and tilted your head as you studied him, trying to gather your courage. “Do you...like ice cream?”

His eyes flashed at you. He knew what it was, at least. He shrugged noncommittally at you, but something about his body language made you suspect that that was an act. “I liked it in Asgard.”

Alright. He knew what it was. You tucked your hands into your pockets and forced yourself not to look away from him. Even hidden behind the clouds, somehow the sun managed to perfectly illuminate his face. His eyes. “Well. Um. So, I’m sure that Earthly ice cream can’t compare to _Asgardian_ ice cream, but...do you want to come with me to get some? I know this really cute place...” You swallowed down your fear of rejection, your assurance that he could also go back and wrestle with his brother if he wanted, and raised your eyebrows at him instead.

His face was unreadable, but, after a few moment’s thought, he nodded at you, at least. You didn’t want to let yourself smile too widely at him, but...you did it anyway, and quickly turned on the ball of your foot to continue on in the direction of the ice cream shop. 

Loki followed you. Actually, he started to pass you—his legs were longer than yours were, and something about his grace seemed to let him move even faster than you could without even trying—but when he sidled up next to you, you noticed that he made an effort to slow down. You pointed out some of your favorite things to him on the way: interesting graffiti on signs and buildings, a building that always had a giant orange cat in the window who watched you pass, dandelions that grew up through cracks in the sidewalk. You liked walking this path alone, of course, but it took on entirely new levels now that you were walking it with somebody else. 

“Is _this_ where you’re always disappearing to?” It was clear that Loki hadn’t really meant to ask the question aloud. He seemed...a little displeased, to be honest. Warmth flooded through you, but it was hard to tell whether it was embarrassment at the fact that he’d noticed your absence, or... _pleasure_ that he’d noticed your absence. 

You rubbed the back of your neck and ducked your head with a little laugh. “Uh. Yeah. I like to be able to get away sometimes. Walking helps me clear my head.”

And that was that. On the rest of your way to the shop, the two of you were mostly quiet. The silence that fell between you this time wasn’t awkward. It was comfortable. Here and there Loki even paused to point something out to you: a pigeon carrying a chicken wing in its beak. A scrap of paper on the ground with a fragment of a hand-drawn cartoon. When you got to the shop, you held the door for him and gave a little bow. He gave a short little laugh but stepped inside anyway.

Nina was working today, much to your pleasure. She greeted you cheerfully. “Do you know what you want today? Because we just got a new flavor yesterday and I think you’re really gonna like it. _I_ like it, anyway. Do you want a sample?” She was already moving towards the little box of sample-spoons. Maybe you felt a little weird about your “regular” status, especially now that you were here with Loki, but you did your best not to look at him and instead nodded at the girl. She scooped out two little spoonfuls of some kind of cheesecake flavor and handed one to each of you. 

It was hard to resist watching Loki examine his spoon. He studied it as though he could learn anything simply from looking at it. Then carefully, elegantly, he sniffed it. You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing. He gave you a quick, sharp look, like he knew what you were thinking, but you kept your eyes wide and innocent as you looked at him. You ate your sample in a single bite, letting the smooth creaminess melt over your tongue. It was lovely, of course. They were _all_ lovely here. Loki took a cautious bite of his tiny spoonful. You didn’t stop yourself from smiling as you watched his face change in reaction: he looked almost amazed. When that first tiny bit of ice cream melted, he ate the rest. Wordlessly, you took his empty spoon from him and dropped the both of them into the trash bin.

“That’s not bad at all!” He said excitedly, spinning to look at you. “It nearly compares to that of Asgard!”

You let yourself smile at the girl behind the counter. “He’s, uh...not from around here.”

It took a moment, but you watched as realization dawned over her face. You stepped a little bit closer to Loki, hoping somehow to show her that he wasn’t the man he was the _last_ time he’d been in New York. Maybe you hoped that you could somehow share some of the good will with him. She liked _you_ , after all, and so maybe that would help her at least not be afraid of _him_?

Probably you shouldn’t have been worried at all. Her smile broke open a little wider and she nodded at him. “You’re Loki! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you at first!”

He took half a step backwards and nodded slightly. “Right. Without the, uh—horns?” He raised one hand to trace out the shape of his old helmet above his head. You really, really wanted to take his free hand in yours, but you resisted.

“No! There’s been all kinds of, like, human interest stories about you online. How you became an Avenger, how you’re helping people now. There are usually pictures that go along with the stories, but...you’re a lot taller in person, wow! What’s your favorite ice cream? Do you know what you want?”

You watched happily as she ran through all of the flavors with him. He stepped closer and closer to the counter, pointing at flavors and asking questions. She brought the box of sample-spoons along with her and offered him sample after sample. You took too much pleasure in watching him enjoy each one, but you reassured yourself with the knowledge that he was incredibly distracted and would certainly not be paying attention to the way _you_ were paying attention to the way his lips curled around those spoons.

Maybe you turned it into a game. You made wagers with yourself, trying to figure out how Loki would feel about each flavor that he tried. He was normally so difficult to read, but with something as simple as ice cream, he didn’t hesitate to let his feelings show on his face. You couldn’t help but feel privileged to see something like that. His eyes lit up, or his nose wrinkled a bit, or he’d smile wide and charming at Nina. In the Tower, it seemed like he was all scowls and rolling eyes. The difference was...just astounding. Eventually, you forgot about your game in favor of simply watching him. 

You were staring just a little too hard to notice that the both of them had turned to look at you. Oops. With burning cheeks, you offered a quick laugh and stepped closer to them. “Sorry, I, uh...wasn’t paying attention. What’s up?”

The girl smiled secretly, knowingly at you. “Do you know what you want? Loki’s figured it out.”

In no time at all, the two of you were taking your treats to a little table in the corner of the shop. You’d gone for your usual in a waffle cone; Loki had gone all-out with a chocolate-dipped waffle bowl and rainbow sprinkles and chocolate chips on top of… You looked a little closer.

“Is that _vanilla_ ice cream?!” In a shop full to the brim with specialty exotic flavors, with all kinds of mix-ins and additions, Prince Loki of Asgard, literal alien royalty, went for the most basic flavor? Granted, the vanilla here was delicious, but...it was still just vanilla!

He looked confused for a moment, but then dipped his spoon into his ice cream and loaded it up with sprinkles. “Yes,” he said proudly. He lowered his voice, then, and leaned closer to you over the table. “This may very well be superior to the ice cream of Asgard. I’ve never had anything like this. But if you breathe a word of that to _anyone_ , I’ll deny it.”

Your head was spinning. “There’s no vanilla in Asgard?”

He shrugged at you in favor of taking a larger spoonful of his ice cream. That blew your mind. How could something be so plain, so common, so _boring_ here but not everywhere? Of course, when you put it like that, you felt silly. It was one thing to be Americentric; could someone also be Earthcentric? Huh. You busied yourself for a while with your own cone and tried to imagine tasting it as though you’d never tasted it before. Loki kept drawing your attention, though. You found yourself all but marveling at him, at the change in him. When he caught you staring _once again_ , he merely smiled at you.

Near the end, when your cone was starting to leak and drip down your wrist and forearm, you tried to lick it off as surreptitiously as you could. After all, if you just used a napkin, there would still be those sticky tracks—and you wouldn’t get those last bits of ice cream. But Loki noticed. He met your eyes as you were dragging your tongue along the side of your wrist, and something glinted in his eyes. You pulled your tongue back into your mouth and grabbed a napkin instead. Whoops. But he reached out to close his hand over yours.

“Thank you,” he said. Sincerity made his words heavy. “For bringing me here. I needed this more than I knew.”

“Please, of course. You’re welcome. Anytime.” You stumbled over your words. The way he was looking at you made you feel nervous. Awkward. He brushed his thumb over the back of your hand, and that certainly didn’t help matters. When he smiled at you again, it almost felt like he knew what he was doing. “I love this place. I’m glad you found something you liked here.” Even if it _was_ vanilla.

He grinned a little wider, then, and lifted your hand to his mouth so he could kiss your knuckles. Your heart beat wildly in your chest at the sight of that—his lips against your skin, his _smile_ against your skin. 

“I truly did.”


End file.
